WEBVTT TO THEIR SURVIVAL. THE NEWS 5 DRONE REVEALS THE ROOFTOP AFTERMATH OF THE TRAGEDY. AT GROUND LEVEL, THE FIRE LEFT ONE MAN DEAD, A WOMAN INJURED, AND TWO CHILDREN CRITICALLY BURNED. NEIGHBORS WERE JUST BEGINNING TO ABSORB THE LOSS OF THE YEAR JOHNSON -- OF PIIERRE JOHNSON. >> HE WAS WELL-KNOWN KNOWN IN THE COMMUNITY. EVERYBODY LOVED HIM. JOHN: HE DID NOT WANT HIS FACE SHONE OR HIS NAME REVEALED. >> IF YOU ASKED HIM FOR SOMETHING AND HE HAD IT, HE WOULD GIVE IT TO YOU. HE WAS THAT TYPE OF GUY. JOHN INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE THE FIRE STARTED IN A SECOND-FLOOR APARTMENT AND QUICKLY SPREAD TO A WOMAN WAS INJURED JUMPING FROM A THIRD-FLOOR BALCONY. TIMOTHY ALLEN WAS DRIVING BY AT THE TIME. >> THE PERSON THAT DROPPED ME OFF AT HOME, WAS STOPPED FOR A LITTLE BIT. IT WAS CRAZY. THE FIRST TIME SEEING SOMETHING LIKE THAT. JOHN: THE FIRE DAMAGE, FOUR APARTMENTS. A NEIGHBOR RUSHED INSIDE TO RESCUE A WOMAN’S POODLE. THEY FOUND THE TWO CHILDREN AND GETTING THEM OUT. WE ARE TOLD JOHNSON WAS DEAD AT THE SCENE. >> THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS RELENTLESS AND PULLED PEOPLE OUT. JOHN: NO INFORMATION WITH REGARD TO THE CHILDREN’S NAMES OR AGES. THE MOTHER IS AT SHRINERS GETTING A LOT OF SUPPORT FOR FAMILY. THEIR CONDITIONS REMAIN CRITICAL TONIGHT.

Man dead, 2 children critically injured in apartment fire

A woman was also hospitalized with burns

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Updated: 6:40 PM EDT Jun 1, 2018

CINCINNATI, Ohio —

Cincinnati fire investigators spent the day trying to pinpoint the cause of a fire that left one man dead, a woman injured and two children badly burned.

The flames and heavy smoke hit just before one in the morning at 745 Kings Run Drive, a complex know as the Winton Woods Apartments.

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"Red, orangeish, reddish color was flying everywhere in front of the windows right there," he related. "First time seeing something like that. Shocking."

Some folks who live there didn't know until daylight that a man, found on the third floor, perished in the fire.

"At first I was shocked," said one resident who did not want his name used. "And then when I found out who it really was, that's when it sunk in."

He lives one building over from Piera Johnson, the man who died.

He was distressed to hear about the two children who were critically burned and about a woman who was also hospitalized.

"She jumped out the third floor balcony," he said. "She had sustained some injuries. She had a slight concussion."

According to investigators, the flames spread quickly through a hallway and up after starting in a second floor apartment.

As many as 56 firefighters were at the scene overnight. The flames were extinguished within minutes of their arrival. They pulled the two children out of the burned upper floor.

Johnson was found there, too, but was dead at the scene.

"Overwhelming" is how the neighbor put it. "He was like one of them guys to where if you come to him and ask him for something and he had it, he would give it to you. He was that type of guy. He was just an all-around guy. He loved his grandkids."

The fire damaged four apartments and the loss was estimated at $100,000.

We're told a neighbor rushed inside one of the units to rescue a woman's poodle.

The resident who spoke with us praised the fire department's response.

"They pulled everybody out," he remarked. "They worked relentless on doin' what they had to do."

At last word, the two children whose names and ages were not disclosed remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit at the Shriners Hospitals for Children. We were told their mother is there getting a lot of support from family and that the next few days will be critical to their survival and recovery.

As people came and went at the Winton Woods Apartments Friday, the sadness of the situation was heavy in the hot and humid start of June.